Rise of the Pokemon
by PikachuGunner
Summary: A story of "pokemon" in our own world, detailing the chronicle of these creatures, their human supporters, and their struggle for freedom and acceptance in a world afraid of the unusual and supernatural.
1. Chapter 1: Virtual Conflict

January 2, 2028, 1:13 AM – Border between Montana and Canada – Corporal Ridge – 1st Fireteam – 31st Rifle Platoon - Foxtrot Company

That last leg of this journey really did us in. This operation was pretty uneventful until our squad got ambushed. We went from twelve to three people in the space of a few minutes. Two fireteams with competent leaders down. Knowing my luck, I'd get blamed for the casualties. If we made it out alive, that is. It's not my problem if I was assigned the leader of a squad at the rank of Corporal. Doesn't help that half my squad were grunts fresh out of boot camp. I'd have failed them for lack of any combat knowledge, or intelligence for that matter, but they paid for it in the field. Too bad they got a couple of people who could actually do some good killed, too. But, just Fireteam Alpha left. Beta and Gamma down. Okay, they're 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Fireteam, officially. Alpha, Beta, and Gamma isn't really standard. Sounds kickass, though.

Besides, we didn't even have all of the 1st Fireteam left. Private Parker got a bullet to the head. Just Private Lin and Corporal Raptor left. We were about to reach our objective. Oh, yeah, we had call signs. Lin was "Chun-Li", Raptor was "Guile", and I was "Ryu". Hey, I made the callsigns, and we agreed. The people I knew agreed because they got the reference, and the others because they couldn't think of anything better.

Ahead, I could see our objective, though it was the dead of night. Night vision goggles are great for that. It was an open machine gun nest that we'd heard had been the death of an unsuspecting squad during a previous skirmish up here. Our mission was to take it out. We were supposed to have air support by now, but we're also supposed to take it out before dawn. With or without support. This would be a lot easier with all three fireteams, even without all the people in them. Instead we had three people. No, you can't call one person a fireteam. All we had were our pistols and a couple of grenades left. We'd have more if we'd been able to get ammo from the fallen fireteams, but we couldn't find them, and that ambush drained our ammo for our heavier arms.

We were under the cover of the trees, still far from our objective. "We need a plan." I whispered. Thanks to our throat mics, it sounded louder to us. "I say we flank the machine gun nest and grenade it, sweep up the remains with our handguns."

"There's not really much way to flank it, Ryu. It's a machine gun nest." Lin said. She had a surprisingly, um, how do I put this? Ah, masculine voice. It was a bit strange.

I paused. Right. That was stupid of me. I looked at the nest again, more closely. "Okay, true, but there's less people paying attention on that side, from the looks of it. At least it's a lone nest. Nothing within supporting distance." I replied.

Raptor nodded. "All right, Ryu. You and I should take a grenade. We'll signal each other, and throw them both in at once. It'll toss them all into disarray."

"All right, Guile. Sorry, Chun-Li, but we are better at throwing them. You can throw them farther, but, accuracy is essential here. We keep in cover until the grenades go in and explode. Then we go in and get rid of as many enemies as we can while they're startled or injured."

We all quickly agreed on a plan of action, going quietly through the wooded area around the nest, staying far away. The less time we spent with any risk of being spotted, the better. We split up, each keeping behind cover as we advanced. We'd worked in the night so often, our biological clocks were backwards. I don't think the same could be said for the nest's occupants.

"Grenades on three..." I said quietly. Raptor and I pulled the pins out, holding the grenades tightly to make sure the grenades didn't go off early. "One..." we positioned our arms back, ready to throw. "Two..." we slightly loosened our grip, setting the fuse. "Three." we threw the grenades, they going straight into the nest and exploding. "Bullseye!" I said as we sprang to the next layer of cover, tall grass not too far away from the nest, adrenaline kicking in in my body as we started shooting at the stragglers, blood soaking the grass as our high-caliber bullets pierced the soldier's bodies and heads. They were disoriented from the sudden shock of being attacked, making it easy to kill them.

My mind worked with efficiency, my arms and hands steady, each pull of the trigger striking down another enemy with lethal force, either making them fall backwards to the ground or collapse in a crumpled heap. Soon enough, there were dead bodies all around the nest, blood soaked into the grass and spattered on the trees. "Into the nest, advance with caution, there might still be someone inside." I said, motioning everyone forward on my lead.

We went into the nest, thinking we'd cleared everyone out. However, just when we thought we'd secured our objective, there were gunshots right outside the nest! You'd think it would be our turn to be confused and disoriented, but this wasn't my first time getting shot at. We took cover behind a wall, not using the machine guns. That would be where they'd expect us to be, and there was no point shooting bullets everywhere against one or two people whose location was unknown.

I could see somebody out there, quickly taking aim and blasting a round into his chest. As I did, I felt a searing pain in the back of my right shoulder, falling to the ground and growling. Someone must have shot at one of my squad from behind me and missed. "Agh, dammit! Hostile at my back! Six o' clock!" I yelled. The impact of the bullet had made me drop my gun, and I had to pick it up with my left hand, using my right hand to weakly support it. As I was kneeling behind the wall, suddenly, there was a bright flash of light and a loud bang! I didn't hear anything land in the nest. It must have been a flash-bang grenade, but it didn't land in the nest. I could hear Lin and Raptor cursing, although, it was very quiet to me, drowned out by the ringing in my ears. I wasn't looking into the flash, though, so I wasn't blinded. If I didn't have a bullet in my shoulder, I'd feel more confident about this situation. Then again, if I hadn't been shot, I might have been blinded, too. I wasn't thinking about what could have happened at the time, though. In situations like these, you play with the cards you're given. Think quickly. You hesitate, you could be dead.

I switched to the infrared in my goggles almost immediately after the flash-bang exploded, shakily taking aim, shooting at him, hitting him in the arm before he could get his gun back out again, the next couple of shots hitting him in the chest, he falling over. I kept watching him, making sure he was dead. When I saw his heat signature growing dimmer, I knew he was dead, along with the other sixteen out there, and the nine in here. Twenty-six in all. I looked around and took count twice, making sure no other hostiles were still alive. "Kill confirmed. Nine bodies inside the nest, seventeen outside, twenty-six total. We get our air support to pick us up and destroy the nest, and we're done here." I said loudly. Mostly because of the fact it was hard for us to hear for now.

Lin sighed in relief. "Oh my God...we actually did it."

Raptor grinned. "Hell, yeah, we did!"

I started "Because we..."

Raptor continued "are..."

Lin finished "Marines!"

We all high-fived each other, simultaneously yelling "Hoo-ah!". Then I winced at using my right arm, especially since the adrenaline from the tense moments before had worn off. "Ah! Ffff..." I started, stopping myself from cursing.

Suddenly, we heard a helicopter approaching. We ducked down, afraid that it might end up being hostile reinforcements. Switching to night vision again, I could see the Air Force insignia on it. "Hah. It's about damn time someone showed up to provide the air support we asked for hours ago." I shook my head. They promised us timely air support. Must have had something else come up. "Oh, well, forget it, that's our ride home now."

"I'm sorry, sir. There was an attack on the base, and when I got out here, you guys were hard to find. Up until that explosion, anyways. What the hell happened out here?"

"We'll tell you later." Raptor said. "Come on, let's get the hell out of Dodge." he said, we sitting down in the back. Airmen were manning the side guns.

"Might want to cover your ears!" said the pilot, as a rocket flew from the side fin of the helicopter, flying into the nest and exploding, sending equipment, shrapnel, and dead bodies flying a little ways from the explosion. After this, the helicopter started flying away from the base, backwards from the way it was facing, it turning around until it was facing in the direction it was traveling. We probably needed a medical crew now, but we had pulled off quite the operation!

January 2, 2008, 2:05 AM – Home – Wichita, Kansas

"MISSION ACCOMPLISHED"

"Yeah! We did it, we did it!" I said gleefully, pumping my fists into the air, controller in hand, as the game allocated our experience to our characters. With reductions for all the casualties, of course. Hey, shut up, we still made it! Ah, about me, let's see. 17 years old, pale, dark brown hair, hazel eyes. That's me, Dallin, skinny gaming nerd, playing the latest tactical military simulation game with a few friends online. By this point, most of the other people left the game lobby, so we did, too. "Er, whoops. Hope I didn't wake anyone up here. We need a better team next time, though. We lost three quarters of our team to an ambush. Told them to be alert, but did they listen? Noooo..."

I could hear Tanner, "Corporal Raptor", on my headset, though he was up in Montana. "Yeah, but we finished the mission, at least. Usually the Sergeants are Squad Leaders but that...went well enough. Especially considering we didn't know most of those people."

"Yeah...I didn't get picked for much of a reason. People pretty much just said "Oh, hey, there's the first corporal to come in," and, yeah." I chuckled. Dunno why they picked me, it was pretty clear most of my experience was in light weapons and explosives. Which worked out pretty well with what we were left with at the end of this mission. Now I have some in squad leadership, though. Albeit not a whole lot, since most of the squad I was leading got killed. Go me. Not that it was my fault, but the stigma is there.

"We didn't get the smartest group around, but the end of that was epic."

"Oh, yeah, it was. Even though I'm pretty sure that girl was actually a guy. I'm not surprised, really. It's the internet, after all." I said with a chuckle, before yawning. "Ah, geez, it's two in the morning already? At least it's a Friday." I paused for a second. "Eh, technically, it's Saturday now."

"Yeah, we should get some rest."

"Good night." we both said, I shutting off my game console and taking off my throat mic. Hey, say what you will, these worked pretty well. They let me talk a bit quietly so I don't alert anyone. Anyone in my house, that is. Not because I don't want them knowing about the game, but because they don't like being woken up. I'm surprised I didn't wake anyone up tonight, though. I was a bit loud at least once.

Yes, I live a pretty nerdy life. But, I was happy with it, for the most part. It had its ups and downs. I did well in school, though there were bullies. My brothers liked some things I did, though we do fight sometimes. I also had friends, but they usually lived far away. All in all, pretty average, with the possible exception of the last statement.

I would say that I got into bed, covered up, and contemplated my life, or maybe the fact that I should get one. I would say that I thought about my future as I lied there, looking up at the ceiling. Those would be lies, though, because I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow that night, tired from my lack of sleep, and the crazy video games. Mostly lack of sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: Beginnings

January 21, 11:58 PM. At the local game store. What brings me here? This hardly ever happens, but when there's a midnight release for one of my favorite racing game franchises coming out, I'm going to be there...though I'm not really supposed to be, it being a school night and all. Props if you can guess what game it is that I was willing to sneak out at midnight on a school night to get. I'll tell you later, but, yeah, waiting in line for my copy, striking up conversations for the past couple of hours about great races and crashes all these people had with the past games. I heard several doubts about if the open-world format would work out well for the new game. I had my hopes up. The developers had a good track record so far.

11:59...sheesh, it's so close, I can taste it. I want to get my copy and go and play it! I'd been waiting for this for a while. I'm usually wary of pre-ordering, but like I said, I'm sure this game is going to be good. Well, I'd still have to wait in line, but this was going to be good when I finally got my hands on it!

Well, I thought I would be rushing home and playing it. Ended up reading through the manual and talking to people for a while. Not like I got to see many people in real life who related to any gaming experience, so I figured out I wasn't really in any hurry to leave. By the time I got into my car, it was 1:05 AM. I was supposed to be at school in the morning, but oh well. I guess I'd have to play this little game of mine tomorrow. I had to drive home carefully. I didn't drive in the dark much, and I didn't want to get into an accident. There wasn't very many cars on the road, though, so I wasn't too worried.

Of course, things don't always go according to plan. Right before I turned into the residential streets to get home, some maniac went through the stop sign and cut me off. I slammed on the brakes and screeched to a stop, barely avoiding hitting the sports car that had zoomed in front of me. After unconsciously shouting an obscenity, I continued on my way home. I was on the residential streets, so I thought I was fine.

Just when I was almost home, though, something large hit my windshield, making a loud crashing noise as cracks spread clear across my windshield, leaving a bloodstain on my windshield as I screeched to a halt. I thought I was merely in trouble of having to get the windshield fixed, not to mention being out late, until I saw the blood, really scared of what I might have hit.

I didn't see what had hit my windshield, so I was expecting the worst when I stepped out of my car, taking a look at what had made impact with my car. There was a large bird lying in front of my car, probably a foot tall, not sure about the wingspan, with brown colored feathers and cream colored underbelly and wingtips. I was somewhat relieved that I hadn't hit a person. Then again, I hadn't seen anything in front of me, so unless someone had jumped on top my car, it wouldn't have been human. I wanted to see if it was still alive, but I didn't really want to disturb an injured animal. For my sake. I carefully observed it...its chest was still moving, so it was still breathing, though I didn't know what kind of shape it was in. Or even what kind of bird it was, really.

Eventually, I picked up the injured bird and carefully carried it. I'm not sure what compelled me to put it in my car. It might have been because it was really late, so I wasn't thinking clearly, or maybe I'm just crazy, but I started driving home with this bird in the back seat. Its condition seemed stable enough, despite the fact it just got brained on my car's windshield. Must be a pretty durable bird. I was going twenty-five miles per hour when I hit it, plus whatever speed it had been flying towards me. I had to lean out of the car slightly to see now, but it was just another minute before I got home. I don't know how my parents were going to react to the windshield of the car being cracked that much, but I knew what had happened. I wasn't supposed to be out this late, so I didn't know what kind of trouble I'd be in, but for now, I took this injured bird down into my room. It didn't really seem like it needed much treatment. It wasn't openly bleeding, though there was some blood on his beak that came from his mouth. Probably blunt trauma of some kind. I wasn't really sure what else I could do. Either it lives or it doesn't. It seemed like it would do just fine, though. I just needed to give it time. In the meantime, I was going to fall asleep.

Or at least I thought I was. Just as I was finally falling asleep, I heard a groan and a voice nearby me, one I'd never heard before. "Ohh...bloody hell, my head is horribly throbbing...where am I?" I looked around, only seeing the bird stumbling around, looking around curiously. Then he saw me and looked a bit afraid. "A human right in front of me. Agh, what do I do?" it said quietly to itself. I don't think he knew I could hear him, which struck me as very odd.

I was rendered speechless for a minute, trying to comprehend what was going on. "Um...I'm sorry, are you speaking in English?" I finally asked.

The bird jumped in surprise and looked at me in utter confusion. "Ahh! Blimey, y-you can talk!"

"Um, I thought you were the one that was talking."

"No, no, you sound like one of my own! How very curious..."

"Wh-what are you talking about?"

"You're chirping and everything! Are you telling me you don't know that you're doing this!"

I shook my head. "I...I-I really don't know what's going on here. You just hit the windshield of my car, and...next thing I know, you're talking to me."

He just looked at me strangely. "I hit what? Ohhh, damn that limey spearow bastard! Thank heavens I evaded him for as long as I did, though. If I'd been knocked down any sooner, I'd have been ran over!"

Now I was even more confused. "Spearow? What are you talking about?"

"Well, spearows are right aggressive most of the time. Don't want to get in their way."

"Um, yeah, but...you're talking about the kind I think you're talking about?"

"What other kind is there?"

Oh, geez. This was just too weird. "So, what are you supposed to be, then?"

"A pidgey, of course. Lawrence the Third of Britain."

At this point, I really had no clue what to say. I ended up smacking myself upside the head, thinking this was some sort of messed up lucid dream, but no. That hurt. "I say, what are you doing?" Lawrence said. Assuming he didn't just make up that name.

"Sorry, thought I was dreaming. Guess I'm just going insane instead. Joy."

"Well, with how you're hurting yourself, I'd say you certainly belong in an asylum."

"Oh, quiet, you, that was once. I mean the fact I'm talking to a giant pigeon."

"I beg your pardon! I'm not a pigeon. I'm a pidgey. Listen when I'm telling you what I am! I'm nothing like those dirty rats of the sky." he said, seeming indignant, fluttering his wings before wincing. "Ah! My wing's in a terrible state..." he said.

"You should probably just rest. Oh, yeah, should've said who I am. I'm Dallin...er...of Kansas." I added.

Lawrence snickered. "You really don't have to try and take after my mannerisms, Dallin. Besides, it's pretty well obvious where you live." he went under my side table and lied down. "You better not try anything, though. I could still put up a good fight against the likes of you." he said, closing his eyes. Though, I really don't know if either of us would be getting sleep. After talking to a bird somehow, I don't think I'd be getting very much sleep. I would think it would be equally weird to him that he was talking to a human. Not to mention he seemed a little paranoid about me. Though, neither of us knew who was speaking what. To me, it seemed like he was speaking English. To him, I was chirping and warbling, speaking the language of the birds. What was going on? Why was this happening? I certainly hadn't been able to talk to animals before. One of us had some kind of ability to talk to the other, but who, and why?

Agh, my head hurt from thinking about it. I thought I was going to play a game tonight, but forget that. I wasn't exactly feeling like gaming after this. In my case, that was really, really saying a lot! I really needed to try and get some sleep, though. I doubted that sleep would come, but I had school tomorrow, so I had to try. After a while, sleep took a hold of me, though its grasp was very unsteady.


	3. Chapter 3: Public Debut

This morning started with a rather rude awakening. My father woke me up, looking a bit mad. Okay, understatement, he looked pretty ticked off. My alarm hadn't gone off yet, so it was before 7 in the morning.

"What the hell happened to the windshield on the Focus? What were you doing yesterday!" he yelled, looking like he was restraining himself. Probably from swearing any more than that. Don't get me wrong, my dad's not a violent person, but you don't want to break things around here, that's for sure.

"Whoa, geez, calm down. I was just going out to get a game and-" I started.

"Another game? It seems like that's all you do!" he said loudly.

"Dad...let me finish-" I started, again interrupted, though this time by a fluttering of feathers.

"Oy, what in the devil is going on here?" Lawrence said, tilting his head a little. There was a bit of an awkward pause in the conversation as he popped up. "What?" he looked at me. "The crazy loony there looks like he's seen a ghost." No, not quite a ghost. But, a pretty well-sized bird in the house.

"Anyway, yeah, I hit that bird with my windshield. It fell out of the air and smashed into it." I said.

"How is it still alive, then?" he asked. A valid question, really. I kind of wondered the same thing. Then again, I wasn't going all that fast.

"I was in the residential streets, and...I...guess it's durable? I don't know. It was an accident, though, I-" I got cut off again. Geez, always getting cut off, though once again, by something different. Guitar and drums.

"Take me down to the paradise city, where the grass is green, and-" my alarm clock started. I pushed down on the button.

"Anyways, it was an accident, I need to get ready for school." I said. Of course, there were still questions.

"How late were you driving, anyways?"

"Like, 10 or so, about."

"Right, you look like a zombie."

"Hey, I was up later than that. Had to take care of this bird. I wasn't just going to let it die." I said, really just "BSing", as I called it. I didn't do anything for Lawrence...didn't need to, really.

My dad just paused for a moment. "...right. Never mind. Just let it heal and get it out of the house, then. Don't want it making a mess all over the place." he said before leaving my room. Lawrence glared at him as he left, then looked at me, looking horribly offended.

"My word! How undignified does that old man think I am?" he said, ruffling his feathers up. "I will at least go outdoors to do that business, thank you very much!"

"Well, he probably thinks you're a big pigeon, too." I said and then paused. "Wait, you understand English, too?" I asked.

He nodded. "Mmm, yes, picked up on quite a bit of it in various countries. Can't speak it because of this bloody beak, not to mention these vocal cords. I'm not made for speaking your crazy moon language."

I just cocked an eyebrow. "Crazy moon language? You think our language is crazy, I'm understanding and speaking yours! Humans don't normally make those kinds of noises! Humans don't understand animal talk, much less -speak- it!" I said loudly, just really confused right now. My dad burst into the room again.

"Get that bird to shut up! Ugh, chirping and squawking away." he said loudly. We just went silent until he left the room.

Lawrence just snickered. "Hahah, I do say that your voice has about as much refinement as one of those pigeons."

"Oh, can it. What do you think you are, a songbird?" I snapped back, getting my things ready for school.

"Oho, I sound better than you, I'd bet a pound on it!" he snapped back.

I just scoffed. "You're in the US. I have dollars, not pounds. And I don't think you even have a pound, you're a bird. Where would you keep money?"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, right. You and your dollars. You Americans are always the odd man out. Your Imperial measurements, too."

It was my turn to snicker. "Really? Who else uses "pounds" as their currency? Spend most of your time in the UK? Turns out most of Europe uses something called the "euro". Besides, we're not the only ones to use dollars."

"Blast! Ah, true. Well, I suppose there's not many European countries that use it, but-"

I cut him off. "Yeah, places like Egypt and whatnot."

"Ah, bug off, already." he scoffed and ruffled his feathers.

I had to ask something else. "How did you get into America, anyways? Or, for that matter, why? Seems a ways to travel."

Lawrence only paused for a moment. "You know what? I'll tell you that later. You've got to get to school, right?"

I nodded. "Yes, I do. I can't just leave you on the ground here, though. Brothers will find you, and I don't know how that will turn out."

He shivered a little. "Ah, blimey. They're not very animal friendly, I assume. Fine when I can fly, but I'm quite grounded." he said. As I crouched down to pick up my books, he hopped up onto my shoulder. I yelped in surprise and flailed a little. "Calm down. You'd think a spider had hopped on you, the way you just panicked."

"Well, excuse me if your talons and weight took me by surprise." I said, slipping on my backpack. "I don't know if school will be any safer."

"Oh, come now, I'm not that heavy. Besides, looking at another country's school will be quite interesting!" he said, sounding kind of excited. I guess he liked to think he was all classy and cultured. Was he? I don't really know. He sure was trying hard to act it, though.

"Fine, then...I guess I just need to make sure not to be talking to you in the middle of school, or people will look at me like a freak." I said, a little nervous about that.

"There's stranger people out there, you know." Lawrence said with a chuckle.

I just shook my head. "I don't see many people talking to animals."

"Mmm, I suppose. But trust me, there's stranger out there." he said, fluttering his feathers a little. What was that supposed to mean?

"If you say so..." I shrugged a little. "Just don't act out during class, okay?"

He scoffed. "Me, act out? Poppycock."

I just let out a slight groan. Him acting out seemed more likely than I felt safe with. "Sure, sure...well, I guess it would be best for us to be heading off before we're late."

"Yes, off into the wide open sky of knowledge!" he exclaimed. I just sighed and rolled my eyes. For a little bird, I had this feeling he'd be quite a handful.

"If I met a person like you, I really don't know what I'd think."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Hyper, snide, and trying his damndest to be British." I chuckled a little.

"Well, maybe. I'm a bit excitable being in a new place, though!" he fluffed out his feathers.

I chuckled slightly. "Eh, I might end up depressing you, then. I don't look forward to that much around here."

"Well, way to dampen the mood." Lawrence fell silent after that, at least for now. I didn't think that wouldn't last long, though. For now, I just went out to the bus, which had already pulled up by the time I had finally gotten out of the house. Needless to say, with Lawrence on my shoulder, I was getting some funny looks. He seemed to be giving strange looks back, too.

"I tell you, this is one time I wish my sense of smell was less sensitive..." he said with a shaking of his feathers, trying to tuck his head in between his wings. I held back a snicker as I sat down in the bus, backpack on the floor.

"Hey, what're ya doin' with a bird?" a voice came from behind me. Great, just my luck. Got the seat in front of these two airheads.

"Yeah, come on, why you bringing it to school? Animals will just act out." the other said, starting to poke at Lawrence. Lawrence just looked irritated.

I suppose I should introduce these two. The one that contracts half of his words is Lucas, a big jock who wants to go into boxing someday. I hope he does. Means I'd get to see him get the crap beaten out of him sometime. Not that he has anything against me, he just likes to pick on everyone. Honestly, I don't know if he even knows the difference between the people he tries to torment.

The other is Andy, an athletic kid who likes to think he's a brainiac. I think he likes to torment kids smarter than him, from what I've seen, but I don't claim to know for sure. Maybe I'll see him out on an injury from his football playing, that would be great.

"That would be "why are you bringing it to school", Andy." I said.

He just continued to irritate both me and Lawrence, shoving me a bit. "Hey, don't get smart with me!"

"Also, I wouldn't be doing irritating the bird, either. I don't know what he does if you get him angry." I said.

"It's just a dumb bird, and it can't even fly. I can see that." Andy snickered.

Lawrence scoffed. "I'm the dumb one? I'm smarter than the both of you put together!"

"Oh, look, it's angry, I'm so scared of-" he started, then suddenly yelped as Lawrence snapped out and bit his finger rather quickly, looking absolutely steamed. "Gah! I'm gonna-" he started. I grabbed Lawrence and held onto him.

"Hey, I told you not to keep doing that. If you'd listen to people-"

"This doesn't concern you! Let me get my hands on that thing before I make you drop him!"

"You try that on me, there's a bus driver and whole group of students here that would report you. I'm sure some of these students would love to see you in detention."

There was a pause before the bus stopped at school. "I'll get after you later...you and that damn bird." he said before getting off the bus.

Lucas just chuckled getting off the bus. "For a smart kid, 'e sure's dumb." he said to himself. Like I said, I think he just picks on whoever he can pick on.

"Hey, shut up, the stupid thing bit me!"

"Well, don' poke it, dummy."

"Why, I oughta-"

"You oughta what? You can't do nuthin' and you know it."

I just walked past and chuckled. At least those two didn't get along very well.

I heard another chuckle, though from Lawrence. "Well, I can see why you don't look forward to coming, but at the least, those two are amusing."

I shook my head. "Glad you think so."

"I shouldn't have bitten him, though. For the obvious reason, I can't fly or anything. That and he was absolutely vile." he shivered a little.

I had to laugh a bit at that. I got weird looks again. Spontaneous laughter. Geez, I was going to look like a nut. I whispered to him. "All right, I can't have you doing that. I don't want people to start thinking I'm going stark raving mad, okay?"

"Well, then don't reply to me, for starters!" he said with a bit of a laugh. I shook my head. Yeah, I was right. He was certainly going to be a handful.


	4. Chapter 4: Rough Start

I dare you, try going to school with a bird on your shoulder. Unless you're a falconer or an austringer, you're just going to get a lot of weird looks. Besides, no one trains hunting pigeons, or pidgeys, whatever. I'm calling Lawrence a pigeon so people don't think I'm completely insane.

"Would you stop calling me a pigeon?" he finally said to me after one of my classes when the hall was empty. "It's like calling an Aston Martin a Yugo." he ruffled his feathers a bit.

"Hah, I thought I was the only one that made car references. Everyone always looks at me weird when I do." I chuckled a bit. "But pidgeys don't exist. At least, they're not supposed to. You have no clue what people would think if I started calling you that, thinking I'm delusional. "Oh, look at that crazy nutjob, acting out fantasies."" I said the last part in a mock voice.

Lawrence just looked behind me. "Oh, bloody hell..." he muttered.

"What? Someone hear me?" I looked behind me. It was Andy again. "Oh..."

"I said I was going to kill that thing. Get out of the way and I'll hurt you, too!" he yelled.

Me and Lawrence just looked at him like he was an idiot. "...what?" Andy said, obviously not getting why we weren't scared of him.

I shook my head. "Get out of the way and I'll hurt you? Don't you mean, "Get out of the way or I'll hurt you?""

Andy paused for a short moment. "Er...well...yeah. Dammit, stop correcting me!"

Lawrence snickered. "I think that needed corrected. Seems like a pretty crucial conjunction to me."

I laughed. "Ah! Somebody else who knows their English terms!" I said. I then realized I was looking at Lawrence when I said that. Andy looked at me like he'd just heard me speaking in some dialect of Ancient Greek.

"What the hell? Did you just...what...I..." he shook his head. "Are you talking to that thing!" he finally said.

I shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Would you know the difference either way?" I laughed. "Maybe I am, or maybe I'm just freaking you out."

Andy came up to me and lifted me up by my shirt. "Maybe it won't matter when I break both of you!" he said with a rather violent tone to his voice. I yelped as this happened! Maybe I shouldn't have been so smarmy with him. Though, just as he reared his hand back to punch me, something shoved him back, hard! That sent him, me, and Lawrence to the ground. I looked up and immediately knew who it was that had delivered the shove. He had medium length white hair, pale skin, red eyes, and was wearing a black trenchcoat and black jeans, like he almost always was. If there was anybody in the school that was the weirdest and most unpredictable, it was this guy. Aros Roth. He was glaring at Andy, but even when he was mad, his voice sounded really calm. Though, I wasn't sure how mad he was, since he was smirking.

"Really? That mad over a little bird? Tsk, try controlling your anger for once." he said, shaking his head a little.

Andy looked furious. "Control my anger? How about I redirect it?" he ran towards Aros, swinging his fist at him. Aros dodged his punch, punching him in the gut and shoving him back, making him stagger and cough. He only yelled out and tried to hit Aros again. By this time people were watching, but that didn't seem to distract either of them, Aros grabbing Andy's arm and giving him a hook across his jaw, then punching him in the gut, which made Andy keep over before Aros gave him an uppercut to his face as he let go of his arm, making him stagger and fall to the ground, not unconscious, but looking quite dazed. I could hear people muttering and talking to each other during this, people keeping their distance.

Aros just stepped back from Andy a bit. "Hmm...here is a thought, how about redirecting your anger onto something inanimate? You might have better luck with that."

Andy just growled. "I'll get you for that. You'll see..." he stood up, though not looking like he was going to try to attack again.

Aros scoffed. "If you would devote as much time to academics as you do now to bullying people, maybe you would actually pass all of your classes in a semester for once."

"Cram it! What I do isn't any of your business." Andy said, storming off. Finally the people dissipated to get to their classes as the bell rang. I picked up Lawrence gently. Didn't seem like he got hurt when we got knocked over.

When the other people cleared out, I tried to thank Aros. While I was trying, though, he pinned me against the wall with his arm, looking me in the eye. He didn't seem mad, though he was creeping me out. "I know what that bird is. I have more experience in that field than you know. Maybe more than you will ever know. People will come for you if you keep up on your path..." he stepped back. "I do not know who, but they are coming for me, too. I cannot stop it, but you have a choice." he said before running off. I didn't do anything for a moment, finally shaking my head a little.

"Any clue what he was talking about?" I asked Lawrence.

He shrugged. "Got me. I'm not sure if he knows what he's talking about. He seems a bit mental."

"I don't know." I said. Was he? Honestly, I was kind of glad to know I wasn't the only one who knew about what Laurence was. What he said worried me, though. When he said something, he was usually right. It was actually a bit creepy. "I still think we should be careful."

"What? You think he's right? He's off his rocker!" Lawrence exclaimed.

"Eh, I won't argue with you there. But when says something will happen, he's right. Usually." I said. Granted, him being right was usually predicting natural disasters, but...still. Creepy, right?

"Hmm. There's something really strange about him. I can't quite put my finger on it." Lawrence said.

"You mean besides almost everything?" I replied.

"Well, almost like there was something...inhuman about him. Ah, never mind it, maybe he just gives me the shivers." he said, ruffling his feathers a bit. He wasn't the only one. Aros gave a lot of people the creeps. If it wasn't for him, though, me and Lawrence would probably not be in good shape right now. All I knew right now is it wasn't going to be good for our health if Lawrence kept coming to school with me, at this rate.

Though, at least I got something amusing before I left school. As I was going to my next class, I heard Andy and Lucas again.

"That stupid son of a-"

"Cool it, Andy. Tha' guy's a bettuh fighter than you are. Jus' face it."

"Then why don't you get him! You're into boxing, for crying out loud!"

"Whoa, ya think I's nuts? 'E's no boxer, but 'e could lay me right out flat. 'Sides, jus' 'cause someone's not a boxer don't mean they don't fight. If you's gonna make people think ya smart, at least act it."

"Grr, I told you not to say things like that!"

"Or whut? I can't beat Aros, but I sure can lay your sorry ass flat."

"Oh, yeah? Bring it, come on!"

"You dun' mean that, stupid."

"Come on!"

I just chuckled and shook my head, leaving them to their arguing. I don't think they actually traded blows. Just them arguing like always. I was already late to class, though. At least they'd be later than I was.


	5. Chapter 5: Day Complete

Well, school is over for today. I was about to say that I hate Mondays. Which I do, but it's the 22nd, so it's Tuesday. Lawrence didn't really help any. "Hey, Lawrence, future reference, try not to bite anyone next time, okay?"

Lawrence rolled his eyes. "Ah, you'll see. You don't know how I can fight. Much of my agility relies on flying, though, so me fighting with an injured wing is like you fighting with a broken leg. It can't be done."

I chuckled a little. "Right. You're telling me you could take Andy down? With your stature?"

"With ease!" Lawrence replied back eagerly.

"Riiight." I said back, really not believing that.

"Oh ho! You've never seen me fight. You will see!"

"Sure, sure..."

Lawrence just scoffed and fluttered his wings slightly. "Come on! Ah, I'd show you, if my wings worked fully. Besides, you talk like I'm a small bird, and I say you're wrong."

"You're only a foot tall!"

"Hah, size is never the only deciding factor."

"So, you're admitting you're small?"

Lawrence scoffed. "Small to you, maybe. For now."

"For now?"

"Of course. I'm young. You know what I am, so use that brain of yours!"

I stepped outside of the school to discover I'd missed my bus, taking too long to get my stuff out of my locker and bickering with Lawrence. "Agh. Dammit."

"Well, if you wouldn't get so distracted, you-" Lawrence started. I shushed him, giving a motion with my pointer and middle finger and thumb closing together. Basically, a "shut your beak" hand motion.

"I can just walk home, it's not all that far. It's not like it's a bad neighborhood or anything."

"Hmm...something feels off, though." Lawrence muttered.

"Trouble?"

"I don't know, I just have an uneasy feeling all of a sudden."

"Well...keep a lookout, then? You have better eyes than I do."

"Hmm..." That's strange. Lawrence, quiet all of a sudden?

"Lawrence, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just...thinking." He really did seem to be acting strange all of a sudden. I started walking home. I didn't really think much of Lawrence's behavior at the moment. After all, the fact I was even speaking to him was strange enough. Though, somehow, I seemed to be getting used to it. Which sounds really, really weird now that that statement came out of me. Yes, I'm getting used to being able to talk to animals, I'm not sounding like a nutcase at all. Well..."Pokemon", not animals. Not like I can talk to squirrels or something. I shook my head, just continuing to walk.

It seemed like I'd have an uneventful trip home, but suddenly, Lawrence squawked, fluttering his good wing. I turned around to see Aros was standing behind me. "Hello again." he just looked straight at me. Lawrence ruffled his feathers a bit. "It's like he appeared from nowhere." he shivered a little.

Aros just took a glance at Lawrence. "Heh, seems that pidgey is a bit rattled." he looked right at me. "You really should not be walking around alone, Dallin. Makes you look suspicious."

I cocked my head slightly. "I didn't do anything. What do I have to worry about?" I tried to walk past, but Aros stepped in front of me, looking right at me.

"You do not understand! You do know how strange you having that pidgey following you around looks to other people, right?" he said, really getting into my face.

I sighed. "Yeah, Aros, I kind of figured out how weird it is already, but thanks for telling me the now blatantly obvious."

"You do not understand the importance yet, but there are people who would love to get their hands on someone like you or me. I would try not to go out too much with him tagging along." he said, motioning at Lawrence. "Law low, and pray that people do not find out about this." he suddenly looked around, like he just heard or saw something he didn't want to. "I have to leave. Keep my words in mind, Dallin." he said urgently before he ran off, leaving me confused.

"Someone help me." I muttered, pressing my index finger and thumb on the top of the bridge of my nose.

"You sure he's all right in the head?" Lawrence said after Aros ran away a little ways off.

"I don't know. He sure is insistent on trying to warn me about..." I paused. "I don't know, whatever it is he's talking about. Either that, or he just likes creeping me out."

"I'd go with the second option." Lawrence said with a scoff, ruffling his feathers.

"I really don't think he's the kind of person that would go around creeping someone out. He's usually quiet unless he gets involved in something."

"You think he's getting us involved in something?"

"Or I'm getting involved in something I don't know about. I suppose you wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?" I glared at Lawrence. After all, he was the variable here, he's what had changed in my life just recently.

There was a pause from Lawrence. "...what, me? B-blimey, I'm just a street pidgey from Europe. Don't give me that evil eye..."

"'Just' a street pidgey? First, no one thinks you're supposed to exist. Second, what was that about you saying you could take on Andy earlier, then?"

"Well, I...I could, but...blimey, I didn't say I'd do it just for fun. Take a joke once in a while."

I sighed and looked away. "Sorry, I just...am going through stress here. But I really think you shouldn't go out much. Someone's going to notice that you're not a normal bird, and I'm not a normal human being." I didn't think Aros was, either, but I don't want to rush to conclusions on how he was different. Other than...well, almost everything.

Lawrence looked at me curiously. "So, what are you saying, then?"

I walked up to the house, getting close now. "What I'm saying is, we lay low and don't cause a ruckus. Last thing we need is someone thinking I'm crazy and sending me to a psych ward, or someone taking you off as a new species needing research."

Lawrence shivered. "Lab research. The very thought makes my feathers stand on end."

"Exactly. So we lay low and shut up."

"Ah, but I was so looking forward to getting out more." Lawrence sighed.

"Lab research..." I whispered.

Lawrence shivered again. "Stop that! It's not funny, you don't know what they do to normal animals in lab tests, let alone something brand new like me."

"Personal experience?"

"No, I...second-hand stories. Can we please not talk about this?" Huh, a topic that Lawrence didn't joke about, who knew? I quickly went downstairs, letting him hop off my shoulder.

"Now...I guess just...hide out down here. Not like you'll be lonely, I'm pretty much a basement-dweller. Only reason I ran into you was because I was out getting a new game."

"'Ran into you'?" Lawrence cocked an eye at me.

"Er...sorry, bad choice of words." I chuckled a little. I shook my head a little, sitting down on the bed. "Soooo...Lawrence, tell me something. Since you're a 'pidgey', is it safe for me to assume there are others, too? Like, other species? You said something about spearows, but, are there others, too?"

For a moment, there was only silence from Lawrence. "Hah...bloody hell...you really have no idea, do you? Either there's a lot of extinct and endangered species, or they're doing a damn good job of hiding." I only paused, Lawrence looking at me. "To answer you, yes, there's many. Yes, I am talking about species that you're thinking of, and before you ask, yes, we've been around for a really long time."

I looked at him with a glare. "Not getting involved in anything, huh?"

"Hey, stop looking at me like that! I didn't do this on purpose, do you think I wanted to be hit by your car?" Lawrence was squawking, sounding angry now.

"Well, of course not, but...gahhh, you can't tell me you're not feeling really stressed right now, too!"

Lawrence fluttered his wing lightly. "Hmm...well, not...terribly so. I mean, the risk of...lab research, having to blend in, all of that, been dealing with that since birth. Other than the crazy house, I'm used to it all."

"Good luck getting used to it. I'm going to go play my video games now. I need to relieve my stress on some virtual cars and people. If you come along, hide under the couch and don't cause a ruckus if someone comes down here." I said. I guess the stress wasn't changing me by a huge margin, I was still unwinding with video games.

"Well, maybe I'll see what all the fuss is about these games, then. Though, if I stay in your room, there's more clutter to hide behind."

"Oh, ha, ha. Get over here, you." I said dryly, he hopping onto my shoulder.

So, to sum that day up, basically, I had a very crazy school day, but my day still ended the same way, me playing video games. Granted, with commentary from Lawrence about the utterly destructive violence I was using as escapism, but, to each their own form of escape, right?


	6. Chapter 6: Back to Normal?

Surprise, another stressful day at school, and it's still only Wednesday. Two more days of this before the weekend. Though, now I'm really starting to wonder about Aros, albeit in a different way. You know, I really need to stop getting ahead of myself. Maybe I should just write these things out like they happened.

Okay, so, usual drill in the morning, pack up and go to school. Lawrence wanted to come along, but I told him to stay at home this time. Of course, he objected.

"I want to partake in this education, too!"

"Lawrence, you'll recover from your broken wing better here. Besides, we'll just draw more suspicion if I bring you again."

"Poppycock! Ohhh..." he ruffled his feathers.

I sighed. "Look, Lawrence. I don't want you getting your other wing broken. With Andy around, you never really know. Besides, I stick out like a sore thumb with you around."

Lawrence scoffed. "Is that some sort of American expression?"

"Look, I don't want either of us getting hurt because you attract more attention, okay?"

"And be cooped up here in the madhouse? Are you insane?"

"You think this is a madhouse and school isn't? If it wasn't for Aros, Andy would've probably tried to beat the living hell out of both of us." I shook my head. "I'm sorry, just...stay here. It's safer. Besides, if anyone figures out what you really are, then-"

"Don't even say it." Lawrence cut in, glaring at me.

"Fine, fine. I'll be back soon." I said. Lawrence just huffed, going to sulk under the bed. I really was trying to do this for his own good, though.

So, after that bit of argument, I was able to get upstairs and outside to get onto the bus. Of course, the only free seats were right near Andy and Lucas. Just my luck. Or they might plan this. I don't really know.

"Hey, where's yer bird, little falconeer?" Andy said, shoving me a little from behind.

I shook my head. "Falconer, Andy. If you were going for buccaneer, you'd be on the right track."

"Hey, stop correcting me, you little twerp!"

"C'mon, Andy. Face it, ya need a lil' correctin' once in a while." Lucas said.

"Shut it, meathead! Have you ever heard you talk?" Andy yelled.

"I can hear, Andy. An' i's a bit of a...speech con'ition."

"What, ya don't think I don't know that?"

"Andy, jus' cool it, dun make me hit ya inta shape again."

"You hit me, I'll give ya a 'speech condition', my fist'll be so far in your throat!"

"Dun' make fun of dat!"

"Yeah, make me stop!"

Finally, the bus driver yelled back in a gruff, New York type of male voice. "Hey, knock it off back there, ya dumb kids!" he yelled, then muttered. "Sheesh, you'd think I was in some sorta zoo or somethin'."

I just chuckled a little and ignored their squabbling after that. At least they'd left me alone.

Unlike yesterday, school itself went pretty normally. By normally, I mean classes went well, and in between, I was pestered.

The interesting bit of today came after school. Once again, I ended up missing the bus, due to my own negligence this time, and ended up having to walk home again. I should really learn to stop walking home, nothing good has been happening recently when I do.

As I was walking home, along the familiar path, I ran into Aros again. Or rather, he ran into me, literally. I got hit from behind, making me stumble, then Aros ran past me. "Ah, geez, sorry. You never saw me, okay?" he said, before running off. I didn't really get a very good look at him. He looked panicked about something, though.

Another few minutes of walking down the road and I found out what that was about. A police car pulled up next to me. "Hey, you seen a pale, white haired guy any time recently? Lanky teenager, wearing all black, around your height?" the officer in the passenger seat asked.

He'd said not to say he saw him, but, honestly, what in the world was he doing to get police attention? I thought he was running from bullies or thugs or something.

"Not recently, no. Why? What's going on?"

"Not recently? He's armed and dangerous, if you have a suspect, it's important that we know."

Armed? Why would Aros be armed? Granted, just because he was armed doesn't mean he was running from the police. Could be a self-defense issue. But, who knew? At this point, I was really wondering about him.

"Well, I know several people who's hair is white at the moment, and they're pale anime fans." I said. No one had specified red eyes. Though, honestly, I was making stuff up at this point.

I heard something from guy in the other seat. Something about how they had to run into the guy who hangs out with a bunch of crazy people. Gee, thanks.

"Well, if you're done thinking I'm a weirdo..." I said dryly.

The officer in the passenger seat shook his head. "You'll have to excuse my partner. It's been a long day. Well, you figure out anything, you let the authorities know."

"Of course."

"Have a safe day."

As they drove off, I kept walking. If Aros showed up at school, I'd really have to have a chat with him. I probably would've told them about seeing him, except, I owed him for saving me from a beating before. Although, this was making me really wonder about his words to me. Maybe there was a different reason he was paranoid about the police.

"There are people who would love to get their hands on someone like you or me." What did he think I was? What in the world was he doing? I had more and more questions by the day and no answers to show for any of them.

When I got home and started to relax, I noticed something else strange. Even after a couple of hours of playing video games, Lawrence was being awfully quiet. Come to think of it, I hadn't seen him at all.

I looked all over for him, all the floors, all the rooms, everywhere I could think of. Did Lawrence just...leave? Or had I been imagining this all along? I was kind of hoping to figure out I was in a coma and wake up. Like...I'd gotten into a wreck or something, and Lawrence hitting my windshield was just my mind's interpretation of that. I wish it was that easy.

Especially seemed strange that Lawrence would leave if his wing was broken. I asked my parents if they'd seen him, but no. Maybe he'd recovered already? Whatever happened, best of luck to him, but hopefully I was able to live my normal life again.


	7. Chapter 7: Double Trouble

Been playing video games for the whole afternoon, still no sign of Lawrence. I know it sounds a bit strange, but I'm worried about him. Especially since I didn't think his wing had healed yet. But, whatever happened, I couldn't do anything about it. Still didn't keep me from thinking about it, even making cars crash and wreck, in video games, obviously, wasn't taking my mind off of it. Sure was distracting my brothers, though, which made my mom a bit mad, since they were supposed to be doing their homework.

As I went to bed, I put on my headphones and tried to relax. When I wasn't playing video games, I'd listen to music if I needed to de-stress. Mostly video game music. Yeah, yeah, I don't want to hear it. Even in my music, it's pretty much all video games. Slowly, after a couple of hours, I started to fall asleep, thinking I could get back into my daily routine tomorrow.

Getting woken up in the middle of the night by Lawrence proved just how wrong I was. "Psst, I say, wake up."

I groaned and slowly opened my eyes. I didn't just see Lawrence, but something else, yellow furred. "What the hell?" I said, quietly, but with obvious frustration in my voice. "Where have you been? And who's this?"

The yellow furred...it looked like a mouse, twitched its ear and sighed. "So much for the warm welcome."

I sighed and clutched my head. "Ah, dammit, you can talk, too."

He tilted his head...at least from the voice, I assume it was male. "You're the one talking to me."

I shook my head. "You can't expect me to be able to talk to both of you."

Lawrence gave a hmm. "Well, from what I hear, what you sound like seems to depend on who you're looking at. But, for the most part, we can understand each other. Like different dialects."

I groaned. Really? So, I could talk to all of these things? How did that happen? I don't have many answers, but it was something special about these things. I've never talked to dogs or cats or anything like that, so I'm not some sort of animal whisperer. Just a...what, 'Pokemon Whisperer'? Never mind, this was too weird, why am I even trying to make sense out of this? "Dammit...so, I'm some freak able to talk to all of you, then?" I then glared at Lawrence. "And this isn't some sort of Pokemon safehouse!"

"So, what, you're kicking me out or something?" the mouse said.

I sighed and looked down. "I didn't say that...look, just don't bring anything else in here. This place isn't safe. And you guys...especially you..." I looked at the new arrival. Yellow fur, red cheeks, black-tipped ears, brown furred lower tail, black back stripes. Definitely a pikachu. Though, he did look to have a couple scars on his face, along with a piece of one of his ears missing. Looked like he'd been through a few rough moments. "Keep out of sight. Lawrence could be able to get away with being seen, at least casually, he looks like a regular bird. Somewhat. But you...you don't look like anything else around here."

He looked away. "Yeah, don't remind me. Why do you think I wanted a place to hide? But Lawrence here said he found a place, so, I jumped at it."

Lawrence twitched his uninjured wing a little. "He's my friend, okay?"

I groaned and lied back down. "Just...don't let the word spread. Last thing I need is you guys flocking to a 'safe' place that really isn't all that safe. And I'm not even sure how I'm going to take care of you guys."

The pikachu chuckled a little. "Heh, some safe haven, Lawrence." he said jokingly.

Lawrence shook his head. "I never said anything of the sort. Just a safer place than where we were."

I glared at Lawrence again. "Well, it's my house. Hell, my parent's house...it's not even my house, and I never promised anything!"

The pikachu twitched his ear a little. "Oh, no. Hide, quick!" He went under the bed, Lawrence getting under the table. At first, I wondered what was going on, but then I heard footsteps at the bottom of the stairs. That pikachu had some good hearing. He at least had the common sense to hide, too, so maybe this wouldn't be as bad as I thought.

I heard someone slam on my door, obviously really irritated. "Hey! Whatever all that weird noise is, shut up!" My younger brother, Adam. That could be why he didn't just burst in. Me and him had a stockpile of blackmail material against each other, so we had a bit of a "mutual assured destruction" relationship going on. We don't rat each other out, and we don't pry too much into each other's business, because we could both pretty well destroy each other with what we already knew.

"All right, geez. You're going to wake everyone else up doing that, though, and Dad wouldn't be happy about that."

"Just be quiet so I can sleep. Some of us don't want to be a zombie during school!" he said before walking off.

Things were quiet for a moment, before the pikachu spoke up, quietly. "Heh, good to know I'm not the only one with a crazy, annoying family." he snickered a little. "At least I have electricity and they don't."

I growled a little. "Don't you even think about it!" I snapped back, still keeping my voice down.

"Come on, it was a joke. A joke!"

"You shock someone, and I don't have any control over what happens to you." I said. Great, now I have a pidgey who thinks he's some kind of cultured British gent and a smartass pikachu who jokes about hurting people. I could already tell things were going to get really fun, real fast. But, then, the pikachu wasn't the only smartass one. "Heh, hey, Lawrence. Looks like you have a playmate while I'm at school." I snickered a little.

Lawrence gave an irritated chirp. "A playmate? You make me sound like a little child."

The pikachu snickered. "You're still a pidgey, aren't you?"

"Shut the bloody hell up, Sparks. I just haven't grown yet."

"Sparks? Is that some kind of nickname?" I asked with a chuckle.

"You stay out of this!" the pikachu snapped back.

Ah, well, whatever. We were all tired. At least, I was. I started falling asleep pretty quickly. I think they might have quietly bickered for a little, but, I couldn't tell you. I was fast asleep pretty soon.


	8. Chapter 8: Monica Summit

It's Thursday now, each day dragging by. Granted, they certainly weren't boring days, but, man, were they stressful. Aros has been acting weirder and weirder, I've been having to deal with Andy and Lucas more than usual, and I have a pidgey and a pikachu hiding in my room. Yeah, that last bit of that sentence makes me sound like I'm going crazy.

Had to tell Lawrence he couldn't come with me, again. I also told him not to go out and find another pokemon. Honestly, one was bad enough, not even sure if I could handle two, especially with me having to hide them. I doubt the world was ready for this yet, though, so I'd have to keep it a secret. I'm not Red, I'm not trying to build up a team here. As much as I probably wouldn't like the idea of battles, at least it would be normal to have a few pokemon around in a reality like that. But, I digress.

Today, I wasn't quite so successful in getting my bullies to fight each other on the way to school, but I still took comfort in the fact that I'd grow up with a better life than they did. At least, I hoped so. Either that, or they'd get really lucky in their sporting endeavors. If that happened, I'm pretty sure I'd stop believing in karma.

The weirdest thing today, though, was Aros. The weird thing wasn't how he was acting, or something he was saying, that would be expected. No, the weird thing was that he wasn't there. I could always see him in the cafeteria (just look for the white haired, red eyed teenager), but I couldn't see him today. It wasn't like him to miss school. I wouldn't have thought too much of it, though, had it not been for what happened yesterday. Did somebody find him? Did he not come to school because he was in danger? What did he even do? I doubt he was in trouble for beating on Andy, that was self-defense, there was witnesses to attest to that one.

I also seem to have a trend of not being able to head home without something happening lately. I was at my locker, taking my books out to do my homework later. I turned around and I was being stared down by a pair of gold eyes. One of the girls in school...actually, one of the more popular girls in school. She was maybe two feet from me, and hadn't made a noise before that, I giving a startled yelp.

"Well, hello to you, too." she said dryly.

"You snuck up on me."

She shook her head, waving her hand a little. "Never mind that." She had a skin tone about normal for a Caucasian, neck length black hair, and was wearing a red t-shirt and a pair of jeans. She was a little bit of a tomboy, or so I'd heard. The only weird part was the gold eyes. People have gold eyes once in a while, though, I'm sure. "You and me, we need to talk."

I was just looking around nervously. "Um...okay. Er, why?"

"Bring your little pet bird with you, too." she said quietly as she stuck a card into my hand. "Along with anything else you might be harboring."

"What? I-"

"Shush, no more about it here." Then she walked off. I don't think people heard it, though I was getting some looks from a few people who saw. I bet I knew what they were thinking. So many people wanted a date with her, that's probably what they were assuming happened. Oh, yeah, she was relatively slim and attractive, too. I guess I didn't mention that earlier. Didn't really come to mind.

That person was Monica Summit. I did talk to her sometimes, yes, but this was a bit odd for her. Aros always acted strange, so him acting that way was...well, normal, but now Monica was starting to act weird, too. I walked out towards the bus, looking at the card. It had the address of a store near my house, along with "yellow mustang, tinted windows, after school tomorrow". I assumed that was the meeting place, but that just sounded suspicious. Tinted windows, and she wanted me to bring my pokemon? Seems weird she'd start thinking I had more than one, too. Yes, I knew her, but that made me wary, regardless. Did she just assume that, or did she find out somehow? I tucked the card in my pocket before I got on the bus.

I could see Andy was glaring at me. Yes, he'd given me threatening looks, but this was almost the way he was looking at Lawrence before. I sat down and he nudged me hard. "So, think you're going on some date with Monica?"

"Er, I don't think that's what it is."

"Don't start getting smart with me! I'd show you if we weren't on the bus..."

Lucas spoke up. "C'mon. She wouldn't go out wid either of ya."

Andy snapped back at him. "She wouldn't go out with you, either!"

Lucas looked down. "Yeah, I know." he chuckled. "I wouldn't mess wid her, though. She 'its good fer a girl."

Andy looked at him. "How would you know?"

"She 'it me once when I made a dirty joke ta someone."

"You didn't hit her back?"

"You dun 'it a girl, Andy! Geez, no wonder ya never been on a date."

"Hey, shut up!" 

"You shaddup!"

I had to keep myself from snickering as they degenerated into bickering with each other again. They seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Not that I minded that at all. Lucas was right, too, I didn't see Andy getting a girlfriend anytime soon. Heck, I'd say Lucas had a better chance at that.

When I got home, though, I knew I needed to talk to someone about all of this. This was just getting to be too weird, too much, too fast. But I didn't really know who to trust, either. Aros disappeared, and might or might not have the police looking for him. Maybe it was some other albino teenager they were looking for? Then Monica's suddenly wanting to meet with me, and...well, pokemon. Just...pokemon. Who knew things could get so strange in less than a week?

I did have an idea of who to talk to. I went into the house and went downstairs. Lawrence and...Sparks? I didn't know if he had a name or not. Anyways, the both of them came out from under the bed. Sparks seemed irritated, to say the least. "Thank God you're home." he said, putting emphasis on God, in an exacerbated tone. "Your brothers have been down here for so long, we were stuck under the bed, I was really wanting to zap one of them." Great, my brothers were down here? They better not be trying to get into all my stuff again.

I looked at Lawrence. "He didn't, right?"

Lawrence fluttered his feathers a little. "No, no. He was going to, though."

I looked at Sparks with a raised eyebrow. "You better not zap anyone, Sparks."

"Not you, too."

"Well, what is your name?"

"Err...well...I don't..."

"Sparks it is, then!"

Lawrence snickered a bit. "Hah!"

Sparks glared at him. "Hey, shut up!"

Geez, were these two going to bicker, too? "All right, knock it off. Besides, I'm taking you two somewhere."

Sparks looked up at me. "What? I thought I was supposed to be hidden."

"You are, usually. This is different, though." I picked them up, hiding them under my jacket.

Sparks flailed for second. "Gah! You're lucky I didn't zap you there..." he said before I went out into the garage to get in the car. Oh, yeah, the windshield had been replaced by this point. I hadn't mentioned that. Hadn't really been thinking about it with all the weird stuff that happened. Even though it all had started with that broken windshield.

Lawrence fluttered his wings after I set him and Sparks down in the passenger seat and looked at me. "So, where are we going?"

I opened up the garage door, started up the car and started to back out. "A friend's house. I'm thinking I can trust him. We'll see."

"You mean you're not sure and you're still going to tell him about us? Are you mad?" Lawrence was looking at me like I was crazy again.

"I'm not ever sure what to think with you guys involved." I said, starting to drive off.

Sparks just snickered a bit. "You're real good at providing answers that inspire confidence."

I only shook my head a little at this as I kept driving. We'd get there soon enough, then we'd see what happened.


	9. Chapter 9: Nick and Terra

"So, who is this person, anyways?" Lawrence asked as I pulled up to the driveway.

"You'll see. Only friend of mine I know of who won't freak out at all this. At least, I think so." I said. Besides Monica, apparently. She seemed way too eager to see whatever pokemon I had. Made me a bit suspicious.

"Once again, you instill confidence in us all." Sparks said sarcastically.

"Do you always reply sarcastically to everything?" I asked.

Lawrence cut in. "Yeah, he pretty much does."

I shook my head a little bit, picking them up, keeping them mostly out of sight of surrounding houses. I hope. I knocked on the door, holding them in one arm for a moment. At least they were somewhat light. No answer. I knocked on the door again. He should be home. I heard a low growl behind the door. "No, get away from the door!" I heard, whatever was behind the door scampered off. Very large footsteps, too.

"What was that...?" Sparks said, his voice wavering for the first time.

"No idea." I said before the door opened. A boy with medium-length hair, around my age, opened the door. He was also slightly less pale and slightly less scrawny than I was. "Hey, Nick."

"Um...hi. Oh, dear..." Nick muttered. He seemed to know what this was already. I mean, Sparks made it obvious, but, yeah. He wasn't freaking out, but he seemed rather dismayed, somehow.

"Well, he's not freaking out, at least." Sparks chuckled a bit. Thanks, Sparks. Thanks.

"You better come inside." Nick said, opening up the door farther. I headed inside, not really wanting to stand outside carrying pokemon any longer. That did make me nervous.

"So, no one else is home?"

"Not right now, no."

"Aside from the dog?"

"The what?"

"So, that wasn't a-"

"Ah, never mind." Nick now quickly cut in. Wow, his speaking suddenly got a lot quicker. I set Sparks and Lawrence down. Sparks quickly ran off. "Oh, man, you're tangled in this, too, huh?"

"Tangled in this?"

"Oh, you don't have any idea, do you?"

"The only thing I know is Aros is probably on the run, and he was trying to warn me of something. He was vague about it, though, to say the least."

"Hmm, well, Aros is always vague. Unless he's really in trouble."

"So, being chased by police that are saying he's 'armed and dangerous' isn't 'really in trouble', then?"

"For him? He wishes he wasn't used to that."

"What? Why?" I asked. Aros was often chased by police?

"Look, there's a lot I really can't tell you." Nick said, a little exacerbated. "I'm buried in this way deeper than you could know."

"Hmm, well, maybe you can answer one thing for me, at least."

"Shoot."

"Well, Monica's wanting to meet with me...and wanting me to bring my pokemon. In a car with tinted windows. It's making me nervous."

"Ah, Monica. Well, of course, with pokemon, a certain level of secrecy is required. Especially the obvious ones."

"Like Sparks?"

"Yeah, like...wait, what?"

"Sparks is the pikachu. That's his name."

"Kind of a cliché name."

"Well, it's the nickname Lawrence gave him. The pidgey."

"He...gave him that nickname?"

"Oh, yeah, that's the other thing. I...seem to be able to..." I hesitated. Now I'd really sound crazy. "Well, talk to them."

Nick looked a bit surprised by this. "Ah! That's..." he sighed, shaking his head. "Wow, this just gets better."

"What?"

"Don't let people know about that. That'll make you a target."

"To who?"

"That's not important. What's important is if you get caught, you might wish you'd never been born." Nick said. I shivered. That was comforting. If Sparks was there, I'm sure he'd have some snide comment about how he inspired less confidence than I did.

"All because I hit a bird with my car." I muttered.

"You hit him with your car?" Nick asked, taken aback.

"Not on purpose! He fell on my windshield while I was driving. Saying a spearow was attacking him."

"Oh. Well, that is like them. Vicious things sometimes."

Suddenly, I heard a yell. "What in the world? Is that Sparks?" I saw him rush down the stairs, hiding behind me, shivering and saying something. I couldn't understand it, it was all gibberish. "What happened?" I asked, trying to get a better response out of him. Nick just sighed and shook his head, yelling up the stairs. "Terra, what did I say about doing that?" he groaned a little. "Well, he's just going to tell you about that later, so...just promise me you won't scream."

"Er...why would I scream?" I asked.

Sparks laughed a little. "Wow, he's worse than you are."

I looked back, rather surprised. "Damn, Sparks, you got over that quick."

"Fear is a short-lived emotion."

Suddenly, a heavy figure landed right near me, whatever it was having jumped down the whole flight of stairs. I yelped and practically jumped out of my skin, shuddering. Lawrence and Sparks scampered off rather quickly. So much for Sparks' statement about fear. There was what appeared to be a huge ferret or weasel in front of me. Navy blue fur on its back and cream colored fur on its front, its eyes narrowed. Maybe a bit pudgy, but it had muscle, especially its legs, even if they were a bit short. It was at about this point that I recognized it as a typhlosion, though I was shaking too much to actually say anything, especially as it stood up, looming above me with that suspicious gaze. I wasn't quite...Otacon meeting Grey Fox scared, but my legs felt about ready to buckle under me. "Ummmm...h-h-hi...?" I finally stammered out. I wasn't sure I was even in shape to run, at this point.

This large creature just got closer, sniffing at me curiously. Then it spoke. "Hmm, so you do talk. You sound weaker than an infant cyndaquil, though." Great, thanks, as if I needed more confirmation that I was a whimpering, shaking mess. Suddenly, I got pulled close by this big typhlosion, which might have felt nice if I wasn't scared out of my mind.

"Ack, don't kill me!" I yelled, shaking more.

Terra just shook her head. "Geez, calm down. If I scare you, I hope you don't actually meet anything really scary." Calm down. Okay, I'll do that, miss giant fire-breathing ferret. Suuuure thing. Speaking of which, how the heck did Nick hide something like this, anyways? I had enough trouble with a little pidgey and pikachu. She soon let go of me. My heart was still racing and my breathing was shallow. I stumbled back onto the couch, hardly able to stand.

"Oh, geez...I...holy..." I shook my head. First time I'd been in contact with a big pokemon. "S-sorry, I just..." I laughed nervously, my words failing me. "Just...this is all so crazy to me. I haven't even known about this for a week..." I shook my head, starting to mutter to myself. "This shouldn't even be real..."

"I think you have more than enough evidence to the contrary." Terra said with a smirk.

"Heh, yeah, thanks, I couldn't tell." I breathed out heavily and shook my head.

"You sure you can handle this?" Nick asked.

I looked at him and let out a slight, hoarse chuckle. "Heh, do I even have a choice?"

"I hope so. If certain people find out about your...ability, though, probably not." he said.

"Sparks is right, you're really making me nervous."

Nick shook his head. "Look, I can't tell you much. Monica's going to talk to you tomorrow, I'll let her explain the situation more. Oh, and, I shouldn't have to tell you that you didn't see any of this."

"I didn't see what?" I asked, a little jokingly. Of course, I knew.

Nick just chuckled. "All right, good."

"You seem different than usual, though. More serious..." I observed. Normally, Nick joked around more.

"Stress does that to you. That, and you're bringing pokemon to my door. Heh, you know your life's weird when you're saying things like that and it doesn't sound all that strange." he laughed a bit. Well, there was a bit of his normal self.

"But, who is this that is interested in this? Basically, who should I be avoiding?"

Nick sighed."Honestly, I'd be suspicious of everyone. Try not to make too much of a spectacle. At least not more of one..." he shook his head. "Only reason I'm saying Monica's okay is because she's been in this so long and is so involved in everything, I doubt she'd rat out on us. She might get after you for what you did, though."

"Yeah, shouldn't have brought him to school. I blame him for that one, though..." I said, gesturing to Lawrence.

"Hey!"

"You insisted on coming. Just be thankful no one saw you for what you are."

"That we know of." Nick cut in.

"Hmm, yeah...okay, hopefully no one did." I said. He certainly was much less optimistic than I remember him being.

Then I suddenly remembered something else. Didn't I have a report due tomorrow? "Oh, geez, I've got to get home!"

Nick chuckled a little. "Homework?"

"Yeah..."

"I know the feeling. All right, take care, Dallin..." he paused for a brief moment. "And please, stay safe. I'd hate to see you disappear."

I shuddered a little. "Yeah, I'll try..." I walked out, hiding Sparks and Lawrence until I got out to the car. Thank heavens the weather permitted wearing coats.

Sparks snickered a little once we were back in the Focus. "Heh, man, I'll never complain about your lack of inspiring confidence again after that."

Lawrence chirped. "Sparks! This is serious, we're in deeper than even we thought!"

I shook my head. A report to do tonight, more to do tomorrow, while having all this on my mind, then meeting with Monica tomorrow.

If this kind of packed schedule kept up, my grades were going to suck.


	10. Chapter 10: A Heated Rescue

"Well, this is the place..." I said to myself, pulling up into a parking space in the back of the lot in my car. It was Friday, after school. Monica was supposed to be here. "You guys see a yellow Mustang anywhere?"

"What the hell is a mustang?" Sparks said.

"Actually, never mind, don't try and look out the window...you think she's even here yet?"

As I asked that question, I heard, and slightly felt, the rumble of an engine in the space next to mine as a yellow Mustang GT with dark black tinted windows pulled up next to my car. "I think that answers my question." I said to myself.

Then I heard my cell phone buzz. I picked it up. "Hello?"

I heard Monica's voice on the other end. "Yes, it's us. Come on, get in here."

"Okay...wait, us?"

She sighed. "Aros is here, too. Just come on." she said and hung up.

Sparks chuckled. "She sounds impatient."

I shook my head. "Yeah. She's always been like that..." I took Sparks and Lawrence, hiding them under my jacket as I got out of the car, getting in the back seat. I noticed Aros in the driver's seat and Monica in the passenger seat. I let Sparks and Lawrence go on either side of me, the car soon starting to drive.

Monica looked back and shook her head. "You are such an idiot, you know that?"

"Um..." I barely got anything out. I knew Monica might get after me, but, right to start out with?

"Yes, you..."

"Nice to see you, too."

"What kind of idiot brings an animal around in public? Especially one that's not supposed to exist."

"Well, it was-"

"You knew what he was, too, there's no excuse for that!"

"It was his idea!" I finally was able to get out. I couldn't seem to get a word in edgewise here.

"What are you-"

"Lawrence wanted to-"

"No, no, how did he tell you that?"

Lawrence finally spoke up. "I just talked, that's all."

Monica gave us a strange look as I shook my head. "Lawrence, she can't-"

"Okay, then, you're both pretty thick." she cut in.

It was my turn to give Monica a strange look. "Wait, you understood that?"

"Yes. How you can speak and hear the language is beyond me, but reasons aren't important."

"So, did you want to tell me anything besides that I'm an idiot?" I asked sarcastically.

"Being sarcastic won't get you anywhere."

Sparks finally cut in, having been remarkably silent until then. "Hey, it's fun." he snickered a little.

Monica just rolled her eyes, muttering something about annoying, smartass people, turning to face the front. "Anyways, the reason I called you here is to tell you to stay out of this, if you still can. You have no idea what you're getting into. If anyone found out what you're keeping at your house, that makes you a target. If anyone finds out about your abilities..." she paused for a moment.

"What? Who's after us, anyways? Is that why people are after Aros, too?"

Aros chuckled. "Well, that is part of it. Though, I will admit, I believe I would be pursued even without my...differences."

Monica shook her head. "Because you drew attention to yourself..." she groaned, muttering something about being surrounded by fools.

"Who's going after us? I think I deserve a few answers." I said, getting more than a bit nervous at all of this. Monica didn't say anything. "Especially if they might be after me." I added.

Monica paused for a moment. "To tell you the truth, we're not entirely sure, ourselves. We're still figuring that one out. It's a research organization of some kind, but they like to keep secretive. Their buildings are unlabeled, assuming the lab is even a stand-alone building. What we do know is they have influence everywhere. Law enforcement, government, their own squads, not to mention large amounts of money. I've seen the inside of one of the research facilities. They've got some high-end equipment."

"What kind of research is this?"

"Research into creatures like...Lawrence and your pikachu friend there. Or anyone who seems to possess any unnatural abilities they believe might be linked. So, if it's still possible, lay low, and let us take care of your friends there. If these people find out what you can do, however little that might be, it won't be pleasant."

Lawrence shivered. "I told you. I told you not to joke about it before."

"If it's still possible?"

"Someone might already know. We'll keep an eye out. If the police are going to do anything, we'll be able to warn you. Assuming their people don't come after you themselves."

I looked up front curiously. "So, that setup up front is not your stereo system, then?"

Aros smirked a little. "This? A continuous coverage radio scanner. Took several of us to build these."

"These? As in, multiple?"

"Of course. We can not be the only ones monitoring things. Too much risk. We have a place to operate from, but if all else fails, this car can be a mobile communications station, and-" Aros was sounding a bit like he was bragging.

Monica nudged him. "Hey! Shut up! He's not even with us..." she said harshly, glaring at him.

Just then, the radio beeped, seeming to be auto-tuning. "White Three and Red One, repeat, White Three and Red One, Are you mobile? Over." a voice said over the radio.

Monica grabbed the mouthpiece. "Yes, what's going on? This better be important...over." she said angrily. She was probably angry about revealing too much to an outsider. That being me, and possibly Lawrence and Sparks, too.

"I wouldn't if it wasn't. Get on the scanner, we've got a situation. Red Five's got cops on him, wrong place at the wrong time-"

"Really? I've got a civvy here-"

"It's escalating quickly! Someone's got to get out there!"

Monica sighed. "I'm on it...over and out." she put down the mouthpiece, flipping on a switch on the dashboard. I heard a noise behind me, looking to see several more antennas extending out of the top of the trunk.

The radio soon crackled to life. "-Douglas and Meridian, repeat, we have a 10-39 at Douglas and Meridian, heading east, a Signal 1, in a...reptilian costume on the run, Signal 52A, with napalm. Our bullets aren't working, we need more force!" "10-4. 10-39 at Douglas and Meridian, Signal 1, Signal 52A towards officers with napalm, possibly wearing armor. SWAT units, 10-94. Officers on scene, keep your distance, don't lose him, keep the SWAT units updated."

Monica groaned. "What the hell did he get into?" Aros started speeding the car up, and I was getting nervous.

"What're you-"

"Quiet, anything you have to say can wait..." Monica said angrily, letting out what almost sounded like a growl. "The day we get into something like this, it had to be today..." Monica and Aros seemed stressed, nervous, yes, but not scared, even as we were going much faster than any other car on the road. But, then, the police wouldn't worry about speeders right now, judging by the radio we were still overhearing. The police would probably start worrying about us about the time we try to rescue the fire-spewing maniac roaming the streets.

"So, how do you plan on-"

"Let us worry about that, you stay back in your seat." Aros said. I haven't been finishing nearly as many of my sentences as of late. Then, as we turned the next corner, I knew we'd arrived. A cloaked figure was running from several police officers a good distance away, parts of the road on fire, a couple of police vehicles navigating around the fire more quickly.

"There he is. Hold on, this is going to be a rough ride." Aros suddenly cranked the steering wheel, sending the car drifting left, going sideways, and sending me into a fit of hyperventilation, the door on the right side opening on its own. It looked like Monica was operating it. She didn't look all that nervous, even as my heart was trying to leap out of my chest. I pressed myself against the back of the seat as this person tried to leap into the car, he tripping over the seat, obviously not very prepared for this, flying right in front of me in a front flip, the door slamming shut at about this time. He was barely able to say "Shit!" before he smashed his head against the back driver's side window, falling unconscious onto me, he having put sizable cracks in the window. Sparks and Lawrence seemed almost as scared as I was at all of this, though they were yelling, and I was completely speechless. Bullets were now bouncing off of the windows and body of the car, leaving cracks and dents, before it drove off, straight through the flames, quickly driving away. Bulletproof and fireproof, or resistant, at least, and motorized doors to add to the feature list. This was one impressively modified car.

I was now simply trying to regain the ability to breathe again, looking down at what we'd just...I'd say rescued, but that was questionable, since we'd appeared to knock him out. Not to mention he hit bulletproof glass with his head hard enough to noticeably crack it. Now I could see his face, though it wasn't any human face. It was a snout with crimson scales, and a protrusion out of the back of its head. "A...charmeleon...?" I said to myself. Would explain the 'napalm'. Or maybe it did work like napalm. Aros drove closer to the speed of the traffic now, pulling up into a car wash after a couple of minutes, he rolling down the window, pressing several buttons in combination on the control panel, rolling the window back up, metal shutters closing off the exits. As the car wash started up, I could see that the 'water' coming off the car was yellow, the same as the paint.

"Thank Arceus those were only 9 millimeter rounds..." Monica said to herself before she looked back at me and sighed. "This is the kind of thing we have to deal with. Leave your friends with us, and we'll drop you off. Hopefully we won't have to meet like this again."

I looked down. "Yeah, I...suppose so."

"I might not be at the school much longer, if this keeps up." Monica said as she shook her head.

Lawrence and Sparks looked at me. "You're leaving?" Lawrence asked.

"I'm afraid so. I don't know anything about keeping you safe, they do. As long as you're not in the car, I guess." I chuckled. The car was safe, what they were doing with it, not so much.

Then I heard a groan. The charmeleon was waking up. "Unngh...owww, my head."

Monica then directed her attention to him. "Vincent...why are you getting chased by police? Why in Arceus' name are you using fire against them?" she asked, sounding even more mad than before.

"I was...blocking them off. There was...burglary...thought I was a fucking suspect. Can't let them get their...hands on me...lose the product...get...taken in for...experiments." he groaned and lied back, closing his eyes.

"You sure you're okay?" I asked him, though he didn't answer.

"He's been through worse. Just let him sleep." Monica said, though she still sounded angry at him, letting out a rather irritated groan. Worse? Hard to think of a worse day than smashing your skull into a solid surface at at least 40 miles per hour. I was noticing a strange resistance to blunt head trauma with these creatures, or maybe they were just getting lucky. After a few minutes, the metal shutters lifted again, then the car wash opened, Aros driving back out, the car now a bright green. So, changing the color of the car, huh? Didn't know there was a place set up for such a thing. Though, the car still looked like it had seen some better times.

"So, they're not going to get your license plate or anything?"

Aros scoffed. "Please, like we would be so careless. It seamlessly retracts, leaving only a blank panel-"

Monica nudged him again. "Aros! Knock it off!"

"Sorry, sorry..." Aros pulled the car near the store.

Monica looked back at me. "All right, Dallin. Take care. Try not to get into trouble. But, if you do..." she sighed. "Well, call, I guess. Assuming we still have the same number."

I looked down at Lawrence and Sparks. "Well...goodbye, you guys. It's been fun. But, you'll be a lot safer with them, not with me." I hugged the both of them for a brief moment and sighed. "Hopefully I'll see you guys later."

Lawrence sighed sadly. "Goodbye..."

Sparks chuckled. "Hey, you'll have me." he smirked at Lawrence.

"Hmm, I wouldn't count too much on it, but maybe." Monica said in response to me. "Hopefully we don't meet again under the same circumstances."

"Yeah...see you later. Hopefully." I opened the door and got out, quickly closing it, to avoid having people see Lawrence and Sparks, and watched as the now green Mustang drove off. I sighed, walking back to my car. I wasn't going to forget this day, that was for sure. Hopefully it was going to be the most exciting day I had though, because I don't think I could handle another one like it. Maybe now life would be more normal again.

Though, I've been wrong before.


	11. Chapter 11: Back to Normal

Chapter 11: Winding Down

Mission Accomplished!

January 5, 2028, 11:37 PM – Desert Training Facility

Corporal Ridge, 31st Rifle Platoon, Foxtrot Company

I sat back, watching the tally of experience. So much better than last time. Everything just seemed to click this time. Maybe it was because I wasn't leading, maybe our team was better, maybe the other team wasn't as clever this time, who really knew why? It wasn't because of my performance, though. I stayed alive, but that was about all I could say.

"You all right? You don't seem yourself tonight." Tanner said over the headset.

I wasn't quite sure how to answer that. My experiences in the past few days had left me with so many new questions. Unanswered questions. Questions that made me really curious. "I don't know, really. You know how they say ignorance is bliss?"

"Um, yes, I have. But, what about it?" he asked, sounding a little puzzled.

"Well..." I hesitated a little. "Just been having some experiences lately that are really raising a lot of questions for me."

"Ahh, I see. We've all had moments like that, I think." he replied. Oh, man, he had no idea. "What happened?"

I paused, giving a light chuckle before replying back. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Tanner was silent for a moment. "You okay?" I asked.

"Speaking of things you wouldn't believe...I've got to send you something." Uh oh. The sound of that worried me. A link popped up in my messages from Tanner. A video. I opened it up. After it buffered, what looked like a news clip started playing.

"Today we have a strange piece of news. We have amateur video from someone claiming they saw a cloaked, fire-breathing figure resisting arrest by police officers." After this, the cell phone quality video started playing. Video of what I'm pretty sure was Vincent. The charmeleon Monica and Aros had rescued yesterday, spitting out fire from under a hooded jacket. You couldn't tell what he was, but you could tell he was aiming in front of the officers, not at them. Still, not good. Really, really not good. "The figure, according to the eyewitness, was spitting out fire to keep police officers away before a yellow Ford Mustang skidded through, taking him in through the back door." Video of this event happening was playing as the newscaster was saying this. "Edited video, elaborate stunt setup, or is there really a fire spouting maniac roaming the streets of Wichita? There has been no comment from the authorities about this event so far." I shook my head.

"Do you think that actually happened?" Tanner asked.

"I wouldn't really know." I said, dryly. This was bad. Bad, bad, really bad. I think that was what Tanner had wanted to show me, but the newsclip continued.

"In other news, still no sign of an unaccounted suspect involved in a shootout with police in the East Wichita area as they tried to bust a major drug deal. The suspect is described as a thin, albino male, about five foot ten, one hundred and thirty pounds, last seen a black trenchcoat, black jeans, and black t-shirt. Anyone with any information should call the Criminal Information Hotline at-"

I couldn't help but mutter "Oh, hell."

"What?"

"Well, just...scary, is all." I said. Aros, in a police shootout? Involved in a drug deal? What in the hell was going on? At least, I assumed it was Aros, with the way he disappeared from school all of a sudden.

"Scary stuff going on there lately, isn't there?"

"Yeah, no kidding." I said. Were Monica and Aros just criminals? Really high-tech criminals, at that? How much of what they were doing really had to do with these creatures? They'd told me to stay out to keep away from the research going on, was that all a lie? Then again, I could talk to these creatures, so, there was that. They still got me tangled up in a car chase, though. Was Nick involved in this criminal activity? I didn't know what to believe. What in the world was going on here?

"Dallin? Hello?" Tanner said, sounding like he was trying to get my attention.

"Huh, what?" I asked groggily. I must have started spacing out.

"You should get some sleep, it's like you didn't hear me at all." He was right. I really didn't for a bit there.

"Yeah, I probably should, I guess."

"You sure you don't want to talk about what's going on, though? I mean, no one else is awake." I wasn't sure what Tanner thought was going on.

"Mrf, don't worry about it." I yawned. "We should probably both get some sleep."

"Good night." Tanner said, hanging up. I turned everything off and started heading for bed. I hoped this was the last I heard about this sort of thing. It was amazing, yes, but with all that was happening, all the danger involved, it was something I really didn't want to get involved in. It only took a couple of minutes after my head hit the pillow to fall asleep, rather soundly, albeit being an unsettling sleep, with everything that had happened.

I mean, Pokemon running around? That was too much for me to deal with.


	12. Chapter 12: Never Normal Again

January 11th. Friday. Here I thought I'd finally have nothing weird happen all week, but when I got to school, Nick wasn't there at all, and Andy only gave me a wary look before he walked away. This was new. Lucas was giving me a serious look, too. I was just puzzled, to say the least.

"Okay, guys...haha, what's going here?" I thought this was some sort of weird practical joke.

Lucas groaned a little. "Dallin...you should leave."

There was an awkward pause before I laughed a little bit. "...okay, what's the joke today? This is new, you're getting smart, messing with me. I like it, it's something different than the usual routine."

He sighed, shaking his head. Was he being serious? "Look...my dad me to tell 'im if I saw ya."

"...okay...?"

"'E's a cop. A loo...lieu...somethin'."

"Lieutenant?"

"Yeah, dat's da word. Somethin' about you...obtructin' justice?"

"Obstruction of justice?"

"Yeah. Was about Aros. I dunno what they think ya did, but-"

Uh oh. Did they figure out that I lied before? How would they get proof of that, though? Did they catch Aros? But, the time for figuring that out was later. "Wait, why are you telling me this?"

"That didn't sound like you, dat's why. Now, get outta here, they'll look here soon, if I tell them or not."

Wow. I guess he really did just go along with what Andy said most of the time. This was him thinking for himself, here. "You're helping me...?"

"I've seen these jails, ya wouldn't last in 'em. Now, go already..." I think I said earlier I hoped he'd get into boxing so I could see him beat up? I take that back now.

I nodded. "O-okay...thanks..." I started walking back towards the door I came through...then turned around, thinking of something.

"Hey, wait, where're ya goin'?" Lucas asked.

"I'm not going out the front door."

Lucas paused for a moment. "...oh, right." Still same old, thick-headed Lucas. Ah, well.

As everyone else was heading to classes, I was heading for the back exit to the school, pulling out my phone, hoping the number Monica gave me was still good. One ring. Two rings. Three-

Suddenly, I heard Monica's voice on the other end. "Ah, you again? I thought you were out of this for good!"

"Yeah, so did I. Listen, they're trying to get me on obstruction of justice charges involving Aros. I'm at the school, can you get me out of here?"

"Oh, so that's why...shit." Monica sounded...no, not worried. More frustrated, than anything.

That was reassuring. "What? What's going on?"

"There's police on their way over there already. I'll probably get there at the same time as them if I went over, about five minutes."

"They don't have proof I did anything, do they?"

"Oh, hell...it doesn't matter!"

"...I'm sorry, what? I thought proof was pretty important."

"They're just trying to get you in, I don't think it's the police that want you." Well, balls. I couldn't really think of anything to say. Monica continued, though. "Think, think, think...nnngh...oh, I got something. Pull the fire alarm in about, oh, two or three minutes."

"What, why?"

"Are you thick? It's a distraction. The police will be more concerned with the possibility of a fire, and you'll have similarly aged people running all over the place. Sure, you'd get in trouble if you're caught, but you're already in that situation, aren't you?"

"Nnngh...great..."

"See you in five." Monica said, rather nonchalantly, all things considered.

8:01. I wasn't really calming down any with passing time. I was getting dragged into this again! Why? Because I could talk to some stupid creatures?

8:02. I wouldn't even be involved in this nonsense if that pidgey hadn't fallen on my windshield. I wouldn't have ever even found out I could do anything. It wasn't even all that special. It's not like I'm lifting buildings with my mind or something! I got the amusing party gag of superpowers or something, 'oh, look, I can talk to weird animals'.

8:03. I put my hand into my shirt, to keep from leaving fingerprints, before pushing the lever down into place, hesitating a moment before flipping it down, the alarm started ringing through the school! I headed for one of the bathrooms, waiting for students to start coming out of the classrooms before I went out joined the more panicked people in their running. Needed to blend in with the crowd, after all.

8:04. Alarms still blaring, part of the crowd headed for the back entrance, and I followed along. Geez, keeping yourself from being knocked around in a crowd like this was pretty tough, really. I could see a police car going around the corner. With the crowd of students flooding out and the fire alarm going off, it looked like they were parking up front to call for backup. Teachers were trying to keep people calm and organized, but...well, it wasn't working too well.

8:05. A white Mustang with darkly tinted windows pulled up at the back of the school, which I started heading towards as the crowd scattered about. The passenger door opened up and, sure enough, Monica was in the driver's seat. "Get in, get in!" I gladly obliged, and we started driving out of there. Thankfully, we weren't having to speed away this time. The police would be plenty distracted, at least for long enough for us to be far away from here.

I sat back against the passenger seat, breathing heavily. "Okay...oookay...well, I guess this makes me a criminal now?"

"Criminal and potential science experiment."

"Science experiment?"

"Welcome to the club."

I shook my head, groaning a bit. "...you're really going to have to explain this to me."

Monica sighed. "Well...I think you're irrevocably tangled in this now, so...yes, I guess it's about time we explain. At least, what you need to know."

"What?"

"Well, we can't tell you everything. If you get captured, I don't want you spouting everything you know."

"Captured...?"

"We'll explain." Monica said dryly. Explain. Supposedly. What I 'need' to know. Whatever that meant. Joy.

"Speaking of need to know..." she snapped her fingers, and a pair of hands pulled a thick cloth around my eyes from the backseat, tying it around my head! Well, when they touched at me during this, they felt more like...paws, really. But that wasn't important, someone was blindfolding me!

"Wh-whoa, hey, what the hell!?"

"I can't have you knowing where this place is yet..." Monica replied.

I tried to struggle against whatever was holding me back! "But...but...this is insane, I- mmph!" one of the same handpaws came from the backseat, covering my mouth with another cloth. But, they weren't just muffling...speech, I felt...light...headdizzied, I...black...everyplace...sound...fades...


End file.
